Gigabyte has spiced up its lineup of BRIX Pro mini-PCs with two new models, the GB-BSRE-1505 and the GB-BSRE-1605, powered by AMD's Ryzen Embedded processors. Pricing and availability are unavailable at this time.
These AMD powered units are similar in size compared to Gigabyte's latest Tiger Lake BRIX PCs, measuring 196.2 x 44.4 x 140 mm. They aren't the smallest BRIX units Gigabyte offers, but the extra size allows these PCs to pack more USB ports and display outputs, which can be handy if you need a desktop replacement.
The differentiating factor between the two units is the processor model. The GB-BSRE-1505 uses the Ryzen R1505G dual-core processor, while the GB-BSRE-1605 uses the more powerful Ryzen V1605B quad-core CPU. Surprisingly, both processors are on AMD's first-generation 14nm Zen architecture. AMD hasn't updated any of its embedded CPUs with more modern architectures, at least not yet, explaining Gigabyte's choice in processors.
Both units feature a decent amount of connectivity; eight USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports, two gigabit LAN connectors, and one headphone/mic jack. For display outputs, you get three HDMI ports on the Brix with the Ryzen dual-core and four with the quad-core unit (that features a more powerful Vega GPU). Unfortunately, you don't get as many USB 3.0 ports or any Thunderbolt ports due to the older Zen architecture.
Memory support maxes out at 2400 MHz with two DIMMs supporting up to 32GB of RAM (16GB per DIMM). For storage, you get two M.2 slots – one supports NVME and SATA, and the other only supports SATA. You also get one SATA 3 port for 2.5' SSDs/hard drives.
Both units look good on paper and the connectivity is excellent, but the older Ryzen architecture holds these computers back significantly. Hopefully, Gigabyte will set pricing low enough to keep these PCs competitive.
